Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Center of Attention (4)

The only reason he could break down the wall that had blocked him for so long was thanks to the battle with Soo-ah.

The fight that took place on Super Hunter K.

In that fight, Baek Hojun was able to catch a glimpse, however slight, of the path of genius that ordinary people could never see.

Thanks to that, just once, he was able to move forward, surpassing the wall that had blocked him.

He swung his sword, again and again.

That was, for Hojun, a daily routine.

He swung his sword over and over, until it broke.

One sword, then another, kept piling up like that.

"I didn't really overcome a wall."

Hojun said that to Park Jung-woo.

"Rather, I just witnessed a new wall."

Now Hojun's sword was newly perfected.

His Conceptualization Technique had advanced a step, and both his magic power and physical strength had grown much stronger.

Perhaps, in Korea, there would no longer be anyone who could face him with a sword.

Even Soo-ah, for now, would not be able to defeat him with a sword.

"I was honestly thoroughly shocked in America."

Transcendence beyond martial arts.

Humans cannot overcome nature—and a rift is just that.

A natural disaster that humans cannot control.

Only two people managed to stop it.

To merge rifts into one—could that truly be possible?

Even if it was magic, could a human really twist space and fuse them together?

That was the domain of gods.

Furthermore, to smash apart that fused space, the broken gap of a rift, with one's bare hands was the same.

"If an ordinary person tried, it would just be a meaningless punch into thin air."

Hojun wondered, what if it had been him?

Even if he poured magic power into his sword and swung with all his might, could he cut through a rift?

Even if he used the Thousand Swords, could he cleave through the world?

No matter how he swung his sword, there was a power there he could not reach.

"So as I wondered what to do, I found myself standing before a wall."

And that was all.

It wasn't that he had surpassed a wall.

He simply stood in front of it, to find a way.

"Is that so."

Jung-woo nodded.

Hojun's calm smile was, in many ways, something Jung-woo could relate to.

"I haven't completely opened my door either, so we're the same."

"Haha, I think we're a bit different, though."

Hojun laughed, slowly extending his hand to his sword.

"It might be reckless, but still."

He grabbed the sword.

"Honestly, I've wanted to fight you at least once."

His gentle eyes turned fierce, and a belligerent smile formed on his lips.

Looking at Hojun like that, Jung-woo thought,

He often wondered, but it always felt like Hojun became someone else when he held a sword.

'No, maybe it's a bit different.'

It was more like he kept his intense nature suppressed most of the time.

Yet only when he drew his sword did those emotions become free.

Just like when he faced Soo-ah before.

"Hoo."

He slowly brushed his bangs aside, his features becoming even sharper.

Lifting the sword in his hand, Hojun shifted his balance.

So he could use his sword more suitably.

"... That doesn't mean you have to go easy on me."

Urging him to go all out, Hojun kicked off the ground.

Kuwoong!

Before the sound even registered, the sword was already before Jung-woo's eyes.

It was as if space had folded once and approached.

'He's fast.'

He didn't quite reach Alencia's level, but perhaps was nearly equal to Eugene Garland in speed.

Speed wasn't Hojun's specialty.

But right now, he was moving on par with hunters who specialized in speed.

He hadn't even used Conceptualization Technique.

Kakang!!

Jung-woo batted the sword away with his fist and shot his fist toward Hojun's chest.

Instantaneously—the perfect word for the clash.

Suk!

The moment the fist touched Hojun's chest, Hojun twisted his body.

And instead of resisting the force of Jung-woo's strike, he used it to spin his body.

Kwaaang!!

Counter.

Using Jung-woo's power, Hojun rotated and swung his sword at Jung-woo's head.

No—more precisely, he almost did.

Jung-woo swiftly threw up his left hand and blocked it.

"... Striking for my head is a bit much, isn't it?"

"Haha, stop exaggerating."

Exaggerating?

In truth, it gave him a chill.

'Now that I think of it, I don't have much experience fighting people who have honed their skills to the extreme.'

Demons don't learn techniques.

They are strong even without structured combat skills, so there was no need to learn. Only a very few learned swordsmanship systematically.

Among higher demons, perhaps only Cade, the Blade of Evil.

Lower demons who lacked power might learn skills.

'Most S-rankers are the same.'

It's not that they have no skill.

It's more that they simply don't need to go that far.

Most S-rankers have their own signature, but their overwhelming talent lets them quickly skip all the steps.

For example, the swordsman once called America's greatest genius.

Ryan Knox was the same.

It's said his swordsmanship bordered on the divine, but it was not honed to the utmost extreme.

There was no need, and no point.

But Hojun was different.

Doggedly, persistently, he only honed the basics.

Even before he became S-rank, and even after.

Such experience and skill, distilled to the extreme, was something Jung-woo was encountering for the first time.

It made sense now why Soo-ah never managed to defeat Hojun.

This was the sword of a common man that kills geniuses.

When honed to the utmost extreme, skill becomes something a genius cannot comprehend.

They can only wonder, 'Why go that far?'

Inefficient, seemingly meaningless effort.

That very meaninglessness is what made Baek Hojun as he is today.

Thousand Swords.

"Now then..."

The opening of battle.

"... Let's do this properly."

He gripped his sword.

Spreading his feet wide, taking a breath.

In Hojun's field of vision, countless flows aimed at Jung-woo came into focus.

'The perspective of geniuses.'

Hojun insisted he was ordinary, but if he truly had no talent, this would be impossible.

He might fall short of the true geniuses, but even to imitate like this was something.

But the time was short.

Even if he saw the flows, he couldn't chase them.

If it were Soo-ah, those flows would have shown her the way.

She could have done much just by naturally following them.

'I wonder how I look in your eyes.'

Soo-ah was here too.

But he didn't know what she thought, watching Jung-woo and his fight.

Well, he wasn't particularly curious.

In the end, all of this was his own fight.

'Park Jung-woo.'

An overwhelming powerhouse.

A monster who could personally defeat top-rank demons, who rivaled SS-rank, all by himself.

What could an ordinary human do facing such a man?

Still, he'd wanted to try fighting him.

Maybe it was a foolish thought, but he'd genuinely wanted a real fight—just once.

But he'd known it was not possible.

Why would Jung-woo need to fight him with full strength?

They weren't even under the same management, and there was nothing to gain from sparring.

So he'd almost given up on the idea.

And yet.

He'd suddenly been given this chance.

He wasn't about to waste it.

Kwaaaaang!!

Countless flows surrounding Jung-woo.

Hojun couldn't chase them.

He could not tell which among the infinite paths was the answer.

God had not given Hojun that talent.

So he only had one option from the very beginning.

'With every flow—'

He simply thrust his sword.

Geugeuk!

As Hojun's sword moved, countless blades chased its path.

Previously, Thousand Swords was simply countless blades following his movements, shredding his opponent.

It was just overwhelming them with the weight of the swords he'd broken and his endless effort.

But now, it was different.

Each sword moved separately, yet all took on the same form.

If you can't tell which is the answer—

Just choose every answer.

'... Was it Owen they called humanity's strongest swordsman?'

That man had been strong, but Jung-woo thought now that information was wrong.

Hojun's sword now was several times more threatening and formidable than Owen's.

Kwakwakwakuak!!

It was like a squall.

A sudden tropical downpour.

A rain of endless blades so thick it was hard to see ahead.

Each drop could be a deadly blow.

Even Jung-woo couldn't hope to parry them all by hand.

'The only option is to take the blows.'

No matter how he moved, or how he blocked—

There was no way to withstand the blades flying in every direction, every gap, every possible path of movement.

Hojun's Conceptualization Technique, Thousand Swords, held no special powers.

Unlike Soo-ah, whose power bordered on dominion itself, reaching into the opponent's life.

Unlike Hwang Yeon-ji, who possessed a law-like power to retaliate unconditionally against her opponent's strength.

What Hojun could do was simply to cut.

It wasn't an 'I can cut anything' concept either.

If he couldn't cut it, he couldn't cut it.

Because he wasn't special.

So he just kept cutting, until he could cut.

That is all.

'As I thought.'

Jung-woo was relieved seeing Hojun's sword.

Indeed, choosing Hojun had been the right call.

'Find the opportunity.'

He thought he could glean how to open the Demon King's Door, even if just a bit, through Hojun's sword.

Hojun didn't have an extraordinary power, but had a power greater than any swordsman Jung-woo had ever met.

In the end, opening this door was the same.

There was no particular method.

To open the door, one simply had to make everything one has, truly their own.

Seek not the special, but perfect what you already have.

Taking the rain of blades with his body, Jung-woo advanced.

And as the white sword came toward him, Jung-woo smiled.

***

Soo-ah found herself sweating coldly as she surveyed the surroundings.

'Is this okay?'

The surroundings were almost scorched earth.

Hundreds of meters in radius.

No, perhaps in kilometers.

The trails left by countless blades.

The ground carved up by the impact of Jung-woo's punches was unmistakable.

"Whew, as expected, I lost."

"Lose? I don't think winning or losing matters."

In contrast, Jung-woo and Hojun were all smiles.

Well, it would naturally feel good after a fantastic fight.

Still, Soo-ah was genuinely curious about how to deal with this situation.

"What about the trees and the ground being wrecked? Is that alright?"

"Yes, I'm sure Shin Ah-yeon will take care of it later."

Ah-yeon unni will come and fix it?

She wondered if such a thing was possible, but thought it certainly was convenient.

"By the way, Soo-ah-ssi, you got the whole match on video, right?"

"Ah, yes."

"Let's see..."

Jung-woo looked over the footage Soo-ah had just shot with the camera, and smiled in satisfaction.

Of course, the main reason for this spar had been training—but it was also to gather material to stir up buzz.

'The highly talked-about manager Park Jung-woo vs. Thousand Swords Baek Hojun.'

Both of them were participants in the demonic zone, so it was perfect material for promotional use.

"Well then, it's your turn now, Soo-ah-ssi."

"Eh, me?"

"Hunter Baek Hojun needs to rest a bit."

"Aren't you tired, manager-nim?"

If she asked if he was tired—of course he was.

But he was a bit better off than Hojun.

Unlike Hojun, who used Conceptualization Technique, Jung-woo hadn't used any techniques that would excessively drain his strength.

"I'm still good to go. And we need to film your match too, Soo-ah-ssi."

Is this really okay?

Soo-ah couldn't help but nod, even as she wondered.

'Honestly, I was feeling kind of restless too.'

Watching Jung-woo and Hojun fight, Soo-ah found her hand drifting to her sword without thinking.

In the end, she really was a swordsman after all.

Seeing Jung-woo and Hojun fight like that, she couldn't help but feel competitive herself.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

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